The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat and the European Union (EU) launched an Intra African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) programme to strengthen the capacity of SADC Member States to undertake climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions.
The GCCA+ Contribution Agreement was signed by SADC and EU on 24th June 2019 and is funded to the tune of €8 million, through the 11th European Development Fund, for a period of 4 years, with an implementation timeframe running up to June 2023.
The launch of the programme which is an integral part of the implementation of SADC Regional Integration Agenda was held in Johannesburg, the Republic of South Africa on 6th November 2019. The programme aims to support SADC governments, regional organisations, private and public sector, to deliver on the following areas:
- Strengthen the capacity of SADC Member States to undertake regional and national adaptation and mitigation actions in response to the challenges caused by the effects of global climate change and climate variability.
- Facilitate implementation of the provisions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in SADC.
- Facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience with other ACP regional organisations, including South-South Cooperation.
- Assist to design pilot projects on adaptation in several MS.
- Support Universities and Research Centres from the SADC Region in the development of innovative solutions to climate change challenges.
The overall objective of the project is to increase the capabilities of SADC Member States to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, in support of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), Africa Union Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme is a European Union flagship initiative which is helping the world’s most vulnerable countries to address climate change.
In his remarks, the Head of Cooperation for the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Bernard Rey underscored the commitment by the EU to raise global ambitions and devoted to climate-related activities to deliver a European Green Deal to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, at the same time supporting the rest of the world through the Paris Agreement. He reaffirmed commitment to the essential multilateral framework governing global action to deal with climate change explaining that GCCA+ is an EU flagship initiative that provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation, and has funded more than 70 projects of national, regional and worldwide scope in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific for the period 2007-2020.
For his part, the Director of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Domingos Gove said the project is necessary for the SADC region, which is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and known to experience an increased intensity in hydro-meteorological hazards such as droughts, tropical cyclones and floods. He also pointed out that the programme was aligned to SADC framework policies such as the Regional Agricultural Policy of 2014; the SADC Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of 2015, and the SADC Regional Green Growth Strategy and Action Plan of 2015 which are all integral to contributing decisively to strengthening regional climate change adaptation and resilience, to ensure sustainable economic growth.
The launch was preceded by two workshops held back to back from 28th October 2019 to 2nd November 2019 in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. The workshops facilitated the improvement of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) monitoring, reporting systems and developing capacity of SADC Climate Change Negotiators through formulating a regional common position.
This press release is provided by SADC Secretariat
